My Nokian all-seasons very adequately got my WRX through at least half a dozen blizzards. Not just snow, but serious blizzards. The only impediment was ground clearance.

 

Let's just say my friend has 4wd with snow tires on his xterra and he was slipping around at 25mph... so extreme dry/summer tires would be a serious NO NO.

 

wow... i have hella fun with my wrx last year in the snow. Never really had any problems with any type of tire on there.

All seasons seem to work just fine if you know the characteristics of your car and understand how your momentum works. You can have it work for you or against you.

Last years story:
In my WRX. I was coming back from Boreal. It was pretty late and snow storming so I was the only one on the road. Road was pretty packed with soft snow on top. I was on all seasons.

I decided to have some fun. I started fish tailing my car back and forth. Was fun as hell until I swung the back to my right, counter steered, but couldn't get it back. Instead, it began to slide/drift toward the left bank. Didn't want to hit the snow bank so I grabbed e-brake to induce the full 180, threw it in Reverse, and now i was going in reverse but regained control (without hitting the side bank). pulled the car away from the side and induced another 180 degree, threw the car in 1st, and was back on my way. So fun!!

But don't try this unless you know how to use your momentum to work for you! I have done a lot of performance driving so I know the characteristics of cars.

Suggestions:
Take a class or buy a beater and learn!!!!!!
Far too many people do the "wrong" thing when driving in the snow b/c they seem right.

 

imma try snow tires this year... look at these videos on snow tires
http://www.tirerack.com/videos/index.jsp

 

Haha, this happened to me in my STi (trying to drift0rz) and I crashed twice into snow banks! Luckily it was less than 5mph and into soft powder snow that didnt cause damage or injuries. This was driving on Avon Tech all season tires, pretty much zero control on ice. Very harrowing experiences! Funny too because I'm not new to snow driving....the 3-4 years prior to this I drove up to Tahoe at least 5 times per season and never had a problem losing control having fun or spinning/drifting with my WRX and Snow Tires.

 

+1 on the Dunlop WinterSport M3's! I have these on my stock 16" rims and am running them now. I didn't even have to read the link to know when I saw that distinctive tread Great tires, and around the top end of "Extreme Winter" tires that can still be driven year-round if desired. Basically, just short of studded/studdable tires. I keep a second set of rims & tires I got from Tire Rack for summer driving - 17" Wedsport rims with Goodyear Eagle F1-D3's on them... but the fronts got dented/warped on the inside lip due to hitting a section of road work too hard on my Lost Coast drive, so they're waiting to go to Wheel Techniques to see if they can repair them.

My story of losing traction:
On those Goodyear Eagles (lower profile) I was coming around a wider-than-90-degree turn on a rural road on my way to work, and didn't pay attention to the fact that it had rained the night before. I was cruising my usual speed for dry conditions & ended up with my ***-end starting to walk outside, so I steered into the slide & gave it a little less throttle, at which point it snapped back & put my rear 180 degrees around to the right, crossing me up over the roadside drainage ditch. Low-profile tires + crossed up = no way to even get the car to straddle the ditch & drive back out (it was all wet, tall grass in the ditch, plus mud, so no traction @ all), so I had to wait for a tow truck to hook to my rear tie-down loop & drag the car about a foot to the left until it was straddling the ditch enough for me to drive out. Minor damage ended up netting me a new front bumper, fender, etc, and since the exhaust was bent a little, I ended up having that replaced with the SPT/Bosal cat-back system. Hey, gotta take any opportunity I can to upgrade what I can...

 

I just hope they'll get me unstuck after I drift-nut into a large snow bank. It's all fun and games until your car gets buried in a bank. There's a parking lot in Arnold with my name on it...

 

If your tires are rated mud & snow, you will be A-OK in 95% of all California road conditions. There's rarely major deep freezes (last week being one of them), and unless you live in the cuts of the mountains, without regular plow service, dedicated snow tires are a luxury.

Summer tires are self explanatory. Don't put cable chains on a subaru if you have summer tires, unless you also wear a swimsuit under ski pants. Don't drive in the *winter* with *summer* tires.

That being said, if all seasons make you feel uncomfortable in winter driving conditions, by all means get a set of blizzaks/nokians/sasquatch toes.

 

Sasquatch toes are expensive. Just drive on the summer tires.

 

Bad idea. You're gonna get in an accident.

watch the many youtube "summer tires in snow" videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EEOeyYXVGs

 

Yeah, when tires have no grip due to the temperature, it doesn't really matter how many wheels are powered. Zero traction at 2 wheels is just about as effective as zero traction at 4. Even without snow and ice on the roads, summer tires have significantly reduced grip when it gets cold out.

I have RE-01Rs here in Reno and I swap them out to m&s tires once it drops below about 50. I've driven on the RE-01Rs when it was about 30 out, it blew me away how slick it felt. Any ice and it would have been even worse.

 

summer vs. all season vs. winter tires

 

I just came back from Tahoe on STI tires. It was scary at times. The car wont stop.

 

hello

as a local up in truckee/tahoe, i'd very much appreciate you avoid this area on improper tires. just because you have awd DOES NOT mean you wil have better traction. you think these cars push on ASPHALT think about how exagerated that push is going to be with LESS traction.

i have seen too many locals injured/killed due to people who think they are "invinsible" in there outback/suv or whatever. truckin down the road @ 65 mph because they have an SUV. uggg. as a ff up here i have watched my 60k lbs fire engine with chains on all 4's sliding down the road in park. scary.

with that being said, have a great time while your up here! just drive very slow. something my dad taught me was drive like you have eggs on the pedals. has worked for me since i was 13...

josh

PS and if it is sunny here for a couple of days, this whole arguement is moot. the roads in Cali clear with sunlight quickly.

 

Hah thanks for the Miata video. It was pretty entertaining.

Anyone want to swap wheels for a weekend? :-)
65MPH, hows the snow up there right now?